Grenada, the Civil Rights Commission and redress funding

Vol. 97, No. 19, November 4, 1983. 12 pages. View this issue

News of the death of Army Ranger PFC Mark O. Yamane, 20, of Seattle, killed in the fighting on Grenada, led the front page. The issue also covered JACL National President Floyd Shimomura’s remarks at a Tokyo press conference, President Reagan’s firing of three members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and Houston Mayor Kathy Whitmire’s meeting with the city’s Asian American community. Inside, Ron Wakabayashi outlined the redress program budget under the $300,000 cap, and an editorial and letters took up the Justice Department’s handling of the coram nobis cases, with Korematsu named in the letters.

Other pages carried Karleen Chinen’s preview of the Aloha ’84 national convention in Honolulu, the Pacific Northwest district’s election of Denny Yasuhara, and membership figures for the top ten JACL chapters. Columns by Bill Marutani, Dr. Yosh Nakashima and Susan Nakamura, a report on the Little Tokyo community health fair, and a review of Mine Okubo’s Citizen 13660 appearing in paperback round out the issue.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Sansei Ranger Killed on Grenada, page 1. Army Ranger PFC Mark O. Yamane, 20, of Seattle was among those killed in the fighting on Grenada on Oct. 25. A 1981 Shoreline High School graduate and standout student-athlete, his parents learned of his death only when an Army sergeant knocked on their door.
• VFW Nisei Representatives Renew Justice Resolution, page 10. Four Nisei VFW leaders representing 14 California Japanese American posts met at the VFW western convention in Boise to renew efforts for a ‘justice and liberty for all Americans’ resolution after a controversial statement by former national commander James Currieo opposing reparations. The Nisei posts are also planning a January fundraiser dance in Hawthorne to support continued advocacy, building on the VFW’s historic role in securing citizenship for Issei WWI veterans.

Community

• Mayor Courts Houston Asians, page 1. Houston Mayor Kathy Whitmire met formally with representatives of the city’s Asian American community for the first time, addressing 200 guests including Houston JACL members at an October dinner. CAAO coordinator Glenda Joe called the event unprecedented given the city’s estimated 100,000-plus Asian American population.
• Transplanted Nisei Californian Well-Known in Atlanta Area, page 2. Gene Doi, a deputy county clerk in DeKalb County, Georgia, has become one of the most recognized Japanese American figures in the Atlanta area after 19 years on the job. Originally reluctant to move from California, she has become deeply involved in local civic organizations and efforts to share Japanese American WWII history.
• Little Tokyo Volunteers Serve Under ‘Quality Health Care’ Motto for Needy, page 3. More than 140 medical volunteers served over 320 people at the 12th annual Little Tokyo Community Health Fair held Oct. 22 at Union Church of Los Angeles, offering free checkups in dentistry, vision, podiatry and other services. Organizers noted that many low-income, non-English-speaking residents of Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights lack access to medical care due to poverty, language barriers and racism.
• Applications Open for Coro Fellows, page 3. Applications for the Coro Foundation’s public affairs fellows program, a nine-month graduate-level training program, are being accepted through January at centers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis and New York. Twelve fellows are appointed per center, with interested persons directed to contact campus placement offices or the nearest Coro center.
• Help Needed for Holiday Folk Fair, page 6. The Milwaukee JACL is seeking volunteers to unload and sell merchandise at the annual Holiday Folk Fair, the chapter’s only source of income for scholarships, donations, and operations. Advance tickets are $4, with admission at the door $5 for adults and $4.50 for children.
• Children to Learn Japanese Culture, page 7. A one-week cultural awareness program is being organized for the summer of 1984 to teach Japanese culture including songs, games, food, holidays and arts and crafts to 6th-graders in the Visalia and surrounding areas. Organizers are seeking volunteers to help run the program.
• Calif.’s First Latino High Court Justice to Address CRCSC Fete, page 10. State Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso will be guest speaker at the 38th annual Community Relations Conference of Southern California banquet on Nov. 6, themed ‘Justice in a Diverse Society.’ KNBC anchor Tritia Toyota will emcee, with the Friendship Day Camp receiving the Membership Trophy for 30 years of service bringing together diverse children.
• 119-lb. Kauai Fisherman on Shore Lands 118-lb. Ulua — A Record Catch, page 12. Yasuo Moribe, 69, landed a 118-pound ulua from the shore near the Wailua River on Kauai and applied for world record recognition through the International Gamefishing Association. It took Moribe an hour and 10 minutes to reel in the fish, which pulled with an estimated 350 pounds of force against his 50-pound test line.

National

• ‘Cultural Ignorance Aggravates Tensions,’ Shimomura Tells Japanese, page 1. JACL National President Floyd Shimomura told a Tokyo press conference that Japanese businesses’ cultural ignorance and trade imbalance issues are jeopardizing goodwill built up by generations of Japanese Americans. He urged Japanese companies to engage in person-to-person community activities rather than merely donating money, and will report fully on his Japan trip at the JACL National Board meeting in San Francisco.
• U.S. Civil Rights Commission Technically Decommissioned, page 1. President Reagan fired three members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on Oct. 25, breaking with Congress to make room for his own nominees after the panel repeatedly criticized Administration policies. The ousted commissioners were Mary Frances Berry, Blandina Cardenas Ramirez, and Rabbi Murray Saltzman, while Reagan’s nominees include Morris Abram, Robert Destro, and John Bunzel.
• Off-Year Elections Attract National Attention, page 1. A high-profile Senate race in Washington state pits Mike Lowry against Dan Evans for the seat left vacant by Sen. Henry Jackson’s death, with national figures campaigning for both sides. Candidates were asked whether the federal government should pay reparations to Japanese Americans interned during WWII, with Lowry supporting payment and Evans citing the ongoing CWRIC investigation.
• Murderer Spared Death Sentence, page 2. Benjamin Ng, convicted in the shooting deaths of 13 people at Seattle’s Wah Mee Club, was sentenced to 14 consecutive life terms after the jury split on the death penalty. Co-defendant Willie Mak was sentenced to die for the same crimes.
• The Carole Fujita Case: Four-Year Bias Suit Resolved, page 3. After four years of legal action, the Asian Pacific Legal Defense and Education Fund announced resolution of pharmacist Dr. Carole Fujita’s discrimination case against L.A. County, which found she was denied promotion due to race and sex bias. The settlement included her ordered promotion and workers’ compensation benefits for an on-the-job injury.
• Civil Rights Commission Resuscitation Measures Continue, page 5. Following the firing of three commissioners, the Civil Rights Commission technically expired Sept. 30 and now cannot muster a quorum for meetings, with Congress needing to pass authorizing legislation by the end of November. The House has already passed a bill extending the Commission for five years with protections against arbitrary removal, which the White House deems unacceptable.

In-Depth

• Sansei Environmentalist Accidentally Drowns, page 2. Dr. Kenneth Ichiro Miyata, 32, a researcher with the Nature Conservancy, drowned while fly fishing in the Bighorn River in Montana; his body was found on Oct. 18. Miyata was a published outdoor writer and principal investigator at the Latin American Conservation Information Center, affiliated with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
• ‘Citizen 13660’ Now in Paperback, by H.H., page 8. Mine Okubo’s 1946 book ‘Citizen 13660,’ documenting her experience in the Tanforan and Topaz internment camps through drawings and text, has been reissued in paperback by University of Washington Press with a new 1983 preface. The book, drawn while cameras were forbidden in camp, remains a vivid depiction of the ‘bumbling and fumbling’ of the evacuation and the paradox of interned citizens.

Sports

• Sansei-Led Mountain Climbers Fail Everest, page 2. An expedition grouped by James Sano, a Yosemite park ranger, failed to summit Mount Everest while American and Japanese teams succeeded nearby in October. Three climbers including one woman survived an abortive attempt on the west ridge, while two climbers in the successful Japanese team led by Haruyuki Endo died during their descent.
• Bowling Success Keeps Warrens Busy, page 2. Mary Warren, a 57-year-old Japanese widow born Fumiko Nakamura in Kobe, and her large bowling family have become local celebrities in Dallas, winning 16 weekend tournaments. Her children have won thousands of dollars in competitions, and Mary herself has improved her average from 127 to 146 with their coaching.

Commentary

• We Are in Debt, page 4. An editorial responds to the Justice Department’s decision to set aside the 40-year-old wartime convictions of three Japanese Americans for violating evacuation orders, agreeing with the government’s opposition to further court hearings on the matter. The piece argues reparations constitute a debt owed to Japanese Americans wronged during internment, even though a perfect remedy can never be achieved.
• East Wind: Philadelphia’s Japanese House Marks 25th Anniversary, by Bill Marutani, page 4. The columnist describes attending the 25th anniversary commemoration of the Japanese House in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, presided over by Dr. Mary Watanabe of the Friends of the Japanese House and Garden. He reflects on the house’s shoin-zukuri architecture, its history since arriving from New York’s MoMA in 1958, and its restoration by dedicated Nikkei volunteers.
• By the Board: Winning at Any Price, by Dr. Yosh Nakashima, page 4. The columnist criticizes a movement within the Northern California Japanese American community to revert to all-Japanese American athletic teams, calling it racist thinking that contradicts the fight against discrimination. He argues that condoning such double standards teaches children the wrong lessons and that communities must unite against discrimination based on race for any reason.
• Asian Indians Advocate Acculturation, page 5. A column explores parallels between Japanese Americans and the growing Asian Indian immigrant community, both highly educated and visible minorities who achieved individual success but still face collective discrimination. It discusses the tension between assimilation and acculturation, and the challenges second-generation youth face balancing American peer culture with parental traditions.
• A Different Light: Focus on Women at ‘Typical’ JACL Meeting, by Susan Nakamura, page 5. A discussion group examined gender roles and communication between men and women in the Nikkei community, with facilitator Mei Nakano noting Nikkei reluctance to discuss such topics. Participants concluded that individuals should be free to express whatever personality traits they are comfortable with, whether mild-mannered or aggressive.
• Coram Nobis Comment Draws Mixed Reactions, by Nobuyuki Nakajima, page 9. Letters to the editor respond to a prior editorial on redress and the Justice Department’s handling of the Korematsu-related coram nobis cases, with writers split on whether Japanese Americans deserve compensation. Some argue in favor of reparations as a matter of constitutional principle while others, including veterans, question the fairness of singling out this group for compensation.
• Japanese Government Hasn’t Paid for WWII Abuses, page 9. A letter writer points out that the Japanese government was never required to pay reparations for wartime abuses against American POWs, and discusses the forward step represented by the Reagan Justice Department’s decision to acknowledge wrongs done to Japanese Americans during internment. The piece frames the internment issue within broader questions of civil liberties and racism.

JACL

• Redress Program Funding Faces Critical Decisions, by Ron Wakabayashi, page 5. National Director Ron Wakabayashi outlines a revised budget recommendation for JACL’s redress program to stay within the $300,000 cap set by the National Council, ahead of the November board meeting. He stresses the need for chapter-level planning and membership input to fund the program through a potential 1985 floor vote on redress legislation.
• Top Ten JACL Chapters Report Membership Figures for 1983, page 6. San Francisco remained the top JACL chapter with 1,332 members for FY 1983, followed by West Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and Gardena Valley, though total national membership slipped slightly to 25,942 from 26,770. Central California was the only district council to show a membership increase over the previous year.
• Aloha ’84: Welcome to Hawaii’s Island Paradise, by Karleen Chinen, page 8. The 28th JACL Biennial National Convention, themed ‘Aloha ’84,’ will be hosted by the Honolulu Chapter Aug. 13-17, 1984 at the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki, marking the first major JACL gathering outside the continental United States. Planned events include an Aloha reception, a beach luau, Japan Night entertainment, and a reception at Washington Place with Gov. George Ariyoshi, with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield invited to deliver the Sayonara banquet keynote.
• PNW Elects Yasuhara, Commends Lowry, page 8. Denny Yasuhara, a longtime JACLer and former Spokane chapter president, was elected Pacific Northwest district governor on Oct. 9, succeeding Dr. Homer Yasui. At the Seattle council meeting, National Director Ron Wakabayashi updated attendees on redress legislation, the Nisei Aging Project findings, and plans for the 1984 Hawaii convention.

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